Phat Wednesday raises money for downhill racers

Paul Stevens, Claire Buchar fastest

The fifth Kokanee Phat Wednesday downhill race of the season took place on Aug. 17, a top-to-bottom scouring of Crank It Up that brought out 175 riders. It's a long, pedal-intensive course.

In Male Open, Paul Stevens was the rider to beat in a time of four minutes, 49.15 seconds, followed by Tyler Allison in 4:49.74 and Christian Stalder in 4:53.01.

Rounding out the top 10 were Trev Burke in 4:53.26, Kurt Lancaster in 4:54.60, Adam Billinghurst in 4:54.85, Ryan De Muffine in 4:54.94, Simon Buzacott in 4:56.63, Evan Winton in 4:56.75 and Nick Simpson in 4:57.34.

Claire Buchar continued her streak with a win in the Female category in 5:13.12, followed by Sarah Leishman in 5:15.18 and Kathy Pruitt in 5:21.40. Rounding out the top 10 were Katrina Strand in 5:22.04, Casey Brown in 5:22.67, Julie Istvan in 5:27.25, Lisa Mason in 5:29.28, Simmone Lyons in 5:29.28, Britt Mueller in 5:36.36, Tara Katamay-Smith in 5:40.28.

In Master Male it was Dave Harder up front in 4:57.47, followed by Andrew Gunn in 4:58.47 and Chris Dewer in 4:58.51. In the top 10 were Mathieu Hebert in 4:59.71, Corrie Mullin in 5:01.63, Steve Storey in 5:02.90, Richard Bedford in 5:03.72, Alan Golds in 5:06.33, Ryan Newton in 5:08.68 and Todd Hellinga in 5:10.71.

Zander Geddes was the top junior in 5:00.51, followed by Julio Cesar Leondro in 5:03.75 and Will Biname in 5:18.38. The rest of the top 10 were Carson Townley in 5:26.88, Brad Jansen in 5:28.26, E.J. Boffey in 5:31.23, Alex Auger in 5:31.63, Cole Jensen in 5:38.07, Noam Zinder in 5:40.59 and Tonatan Zinder in 6:03.58.

Other big winners were Phat Wednesday regulars Casey Brown and Miranda Miller, who were selected to represent Canada in downhill at the UCI World Championships in Switzerland next week. There was a live auction and raffle at the Phat Wednesday apres, raising $1,200 to help the athletes with flights, accommodation and technical assistance while they're on the road. Contributors include the GLC, Bear Back Riding, Trek Dirt Series, Evolution and others.

The last Phat Wednesday takes place on Aug. 31.

You need to be a member of WORCA to take part, chip $2 into the prize pot and have a valid pass to race the park. Sign-on is from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Garbanzo Bike and Bean, followed by the race.

The final Phat Wednesday of the season, organizers are renaming the event the Geddes A-Line Classic, a chainless rip down A-Line where costumes are encouraged, the more outrageous the better.

The event will include a fundraiser for local rider Nick Geddes, a top-level junior racer who was diagnosed with Leukemia earlier this year. To raise funds for B.C. Children's Hospital there will be an auction and raffle of donations from event sponsors and local supporters.